I wish I could become a child again!
An year ago, when humankind in general and the medical fraternity in particular was faced with the pandemic, we were at a loss for answers. There was death and suffering all over the globe. 'This is a new disease, we still need time to understand it', we said, 'we will learn more and come out with treatments soon'.
Since then Covid -19 has taken us through a cruel, treacherous, roller-coaster ride which no one had ever imagined even in their wildest dreams. It has been literally, and truly, 'breath-taking'!
Well, after more than 15 months of intense research unparalleled in the history of medicine, we are just where we started. The disease itself is twisting and turning and bamboozling us, making us feel as if we are on a wild-goose chase, and a 'cure' isn't even in sight.
Many a drug has shown 'promising results' in so called 'robust studies' only to fall by the wayside within weeks or even days. Such has been our desperation that we had to dig deeper and deeper for possible therapies, desperately trying out old drugs meant for older illnesses and instantly clutching at newer ones even before they have proven their worth. Clamour for the questionable drug remdesivir has attained manic proportions with queues for the drug longer than the ones for vaccines.
Meanwhile our friends who advocate alternate cures are having a field day! From instilling drops into the nose to drinking concoctions made in the kitchen, everything is guaranteed surefire success!
And the common man is taking it all in, stoked by the helpful and 'ever-at-your-service' social media. So much so that even the humble nebulizer has received an exalted 'status update' , somehow magically blowing out more oxygen than the 21% it sucks in! In the midst of all this, thankfully, Covidiots who questioned the very existence of Covid, seem extinct.
There are two things I like about Covid. One, it doesn't seem to discriminate. It affects the affluent as badly as the poor. It has struck the developed world and the weaker countries with equal venom.
Second, as deadly as it may be, it has spared the children. They seem to have been least affected both in terms of mortality and physical suffering as well as psycho-socially. On their part, children seem to understand Covid-appropriate behaviour and follow them better than their adult counterparts. Those affected recover with minimal or no medications. Not for them the sickening rush for hospital beds and oxygen!
All of us at some point of time in our lives crave to go back to our childhood- don't we? Well there cannot be a better time!!
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